So, after being cast out of Heaven, they settled down in the Underworld.
The angels who had previously held higher rank took up positions of power in the newly-formed Demonic Imperial Monarchy.
Establishing the seventy-two demonic Pillars.
Handing out titles based on their wartime merit.
Gaining fame and fortune.
Founding Houses.
After Territory had been divided up, and a section set aside for the fallen to settle in (as a gesture of peace, until they'd found their footing and made progress as a society — and, of course, discovered all the pleasures of life God had denied them), the seventy-two Houses ended up as follows, along with their respective new names, titles, and ranks:
King Bael.
Duke Agares.
Prince Vassago.
Marquis Samigina.
President Marbas.
Duke Valefor.
Marquis Amon.
Duke Barbatos.
King Paimon.
President Buer.
Duke Gusion.
Prince Sitri.
King Beleth.
Marquis Leraje.
Duke Eligos.
Duke Zepar.
Count/President Botis.
Duke Bathin.
Duke Sallos.
King Purson.
Count/President Marax.
Count/Prince Ipos.
Duke Aim.
Marquis Naberius.
Count/President Glasya-Labolas.
Duke Bune.
Marquis/Count Ronove.
Duke Berith.
Duke Astaroth.
Marquis Forneus.
President Foras.
King Asmodeus.
Prince/President Gaap.
Count Furfur.
Marquis Marchosias.
Prince Stolas.
Marquis Phenex.
Count Malthus.
President Malphas.
Count Raum.
Duke Focalor.
Duke Vepar.
Marquis Sabnock.
Marquis Shax.
King/Count Vine.
Count Bifrons.
Duke Uvall.
President Haagenti.
Duke Crocell.
Knight Furcas.
King Balam.
Duke Alloces.
President Caim.
Duke/Count Murmur.
Prince Orobas.
Duke Gremory.
President Ose.
President Amy.
Marquis Orias.
Duke Vapula.
King/President Zagan.
President Volac.
Marquis Andras.
Duke Haures.
Marquis Andrealphus.
Marquis Cimejes.
Duke Amdusias.
King Belial.
Marquis Decarabia.
Prince Seere.
Duke Dantalion.
Count Andromalius
........
Honestly, I couldn't care less about all that "prince," "count," "marquis" business, or any of that nonsense they force the stuck-up High-Class snobs to memorize as "general knowledge," or as some kind of requirement for Class promotion.
If it were up to me, I'd only make them learn their own House's history, and that's it. Unless a devil genuinely wants to learn all that stuff on their own — fine, that's normal.
It's their call, but let it be known: I fully support you if you decide not to bother learning all that.
Here's a tip — just learn the names of the seventy-two Houses, and the names of the most important figures within each, along with their rank if it's a high one. That's it, nothing more.
Addressing someone by their full name shows Respect, both for them and for their House.
And believe me when I tell you, Friendship — especially in this kind of society — matters enormously. Actually, it's vital for survival in times of crisis.
For example, I have Friends in Houses Gremory, Sitri, Phenex, Astaroth, Bael, Agares, Lucifage, Belial, Furcas, Abaddon, Orobas, Glasya-Labolas, Naberius, Crocell, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Leviathan, Amon, Mammon, and Belphegor.
Not even counting the Hyoudou, Genshirou, Toujou, Hellscythe, Noihara, Akashiya, Shuzen, Quarta, Sendou, Vladi, Kurono, Shirayuki, Lupin, Holmes, Hotogi, Hellcat, Tepes, Carmilla, Shidou, Himejima, Bloodriver, Cuneo, Stracci, Barzini, Tattaglia, Corleone, Sparda, Hanakai, Nimura, Tsubasa, Tsubaki, Garou, Kusaka families, and plenty more it would take at least three pages to list.
And let's be honest, you probably don't want to know exactly how many people I kept in contact with, or what kind — some of you would be surprised, others (your mothers, for instance) would be terrified to the point of fainting.
All you really need to know is that I was an extremely sociable person, and I knew basically every important figure across all three Factions, and the supernatural world as a whole.
The only ones I never got to meet are either dead, or simply never got introduced to me.
We all know each other perfectly well, and I can tell you my Friends are loyal, generous, well-mannered, and genuinely friendly people.
Well, not all of them.
But in their own way, they're good people.
You just need to get to know them a little.
But above everything else, Respect is what holds us together.
Respect is fundamental to any Friendship.
You CANNOT call someone your Friend if there isn't mutual Respect between you first.
And how do you earn Respect?
Favors.
You should always be doing Favors for people, in a way that lets Respect grow naturally between you.
That includes the occasional gift, showing up for their birthdays, and keeping things cordial between you without ever crossing into insolence (unless, of course, you're having an affair with the heiress — in which case, you might just be able to cross that fine line separating Friendship from Family).
But don't be an idiot and say something like "don't thank me, I did it out of goodwill."
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
WRONG.
"Today it's me for you, tomorrow it's you for me."
When someone asks you, "What can we do to thank you?" — you simply say:
"Nothing out of the ordinary... I just ask that we be Friends. Both sides could benefit from such a fruitful Friendship."
The person you're speaking to will, of course, happily agree (assuming they have any common sense), and there you go — instant Friendship.
But if that person is smart, they'll know Friendship should never be mixed with Business.
And you should know that too.
We'll get into the whole Business side of things later.
A wise man once said: "Friendship is everything. Friendship is worth more than talent. It's worth more than Government. Friendship is worth almost as much as Family."
And throughout my life, I've confirmed that this is absolutely true.
A truth as massive as the sheer length of time Rossweisse went without a boyfriend, right up until she met me, and Serafall stayed a virgin...
And that is...
EXCESSIVELY, RIDICULOUSLY LONG!
Long enough that every single one of you, without exception, should have your jaw hitting the floor from sheer shock right about now.
Nothing more to say, let's get back to my memories.
..............
And so, after all the Houses had been established, by obvious consensus and unanimous decision, they settled on their Rulers:
Satan, Supreme Ruler of the Underworld, the only one with the right to veto any decision made by the "Council of Elders."
(Leviathan, unsurprisingly, took offense at being called an "Elder," and stayed quiet for most of the council meetings from then on)
Lucifer, Governor-General, in charge of managing the Underworld's assets.
Beelzebub, Vice Governor-General, in charge of the Underworld's Research and Development.
Leviathan, Governor in charge of the Underworld's Foreign Affairs.
Asmodeus, Governor, General, and Strategist of the Demonic Legions, in charge of the Underworld's security.
Amon, Governor in charge of Education for devils reaching High or Ultimate Class, and for the Underworld as a whole.
..............
Yeah, if you want to blame someone for all those manners and protocols you're forced to learn, blame my brother.
After all, it was his idea to make etiquette classes mandatory for High Class devils.
At first, Dad refused, saying the whole thing was completely unnecessary...
Until Amon deployed his single deadliest technique...
The "Ask-your-sister-to-please-convince-your-father-using-her-adorable-puppy-dog-eyes-no-jutsu, Final Version"!
And that, my children, is how the torture of "pedigree education for the elite of the elite" came to be...
So now you know exactly who to kill, should fate's cruel coincidence ever bring him back to life.
..............
Mammon, Governor in charge of Recruiting and Training Young Prospects and devils with Maou-Class power in the Underworld. He also handled matters related to Class Ascension.
And Belphegor, Governor in charge of Recreational Activities and Leisure Affairs of the Underworld.
..............
You might not fully get the point of these last two positions, so let me explain a bit better.
My brother Mammon, exactly as his title suggests, was in charge of scouting every devil out there, and if he spotted one with real "talent," he'd take them under his wing to fully develop their abilities.
(Remember, even though it might not look like it, they were all still gearing up for another War)
He'd also go after devils whose power rivaled his own siblings', and train them too.
As for Belphegor...
Let's just say he had extremely refined taste when it came to entertainment.
It was his idea to establish bars, taverns, nightclubs, clubs, restaurants, shopping malls, clothing stores, among other things.
As for the "Leisure Affairs" part...
He was also the one behind the idea of brothels, drugs, liquor, harems, incest (though Leviathan never once let him experiment with her on that particular front), and rape and sexual harassment (with a little help from the fallen)...
He was truly one of a kind.
You could say, sadly for some (and gladly for most), that the one thing devils and fallen angels genuinely have in common, besides their shared contempt for Holiness...
Is their perversion.
..............
One day, in an Underworld that had already existed for a couple centuries by then, Satan started thinking.
Now what exactly do I do with the Divine Power I've still got left?
Sure, his power was almost entirely demonic by that point, but he still had a considerable amount left over to do something big with.
Lucifer suggested hurling it as one giant spear of light straight at the Fallen Faction, the moment war broke out again.
Beelzebub suggested researching it, to find a way to make devils immune to sacred power.
Asmodeus suggested modifying the [System] so devils could blaspheme God as many times as they liked, freely.
Leviathan suggested creating a sacred beast, to have a secret weapon ready for the next War.
Amon suggested creating angels, just to make them Fall afterward and bolster their own ranks.
Mammon suggested just splitting it evenly between all of them, so each could do whatever they wanted with their share.
And Belphegor... suggested launching it as fireworks during a mega-orgy he'd apparently been planning for quite a while.
They went with Amon's idea.
Lucifer, when the First Great War broke out, opened it by hurling thousands of light spears straight at the Fallen Faction.
Beelzebub tried researching sacred power, but...
It exploded on him, leaving a massive scar across his chest that kept him hanging between life and death for a full month.
Asmodeus tried modifying the [System], but his efforts were completely useless, since the [System] can only be modified from the Seventh Heaven, and he simply ran out of reserves trying.
Leviathan created a Sacred Beast, but it escaped the moment it was created. She named it "Fenghuang," and it's said to have had a rooster's beak, a swallow's face, a hen's forehead, a snake's neck, a goose's breast, a tortoise's back, a crow's wings, and a fish's tail.
(I strongly suspect my sister was smoking something pretty potent when she designed her "secret weapon")
Amon tried to create angels, but the sacred energy backfired and burned his Mansion to the ground, kicking off the single most terrifying Fire the Underworld had ever witnessed.
The flames were sacred, so putting them out was an absolute nightmare.
Miraculously, everyone walked away completely unharmed.
Mammon, not knowing what to do with his share of the power, just handed it over to Belphegor.
Belphegor got to live out his dream, and finally threw his mega-orgy complete with fireworks.
Satan, meanwhile, had made up his mind about something.
If God had a [System]...
Why shouldn't devils have one too?
So he worked tirelessly, without rest (except for the occasional bathroom break or meal) for a hundred straight years.
Until he finally succeeded.
Through sheer effort, rage, and frustration at God for forcing him to design something this complex, he pulled it off.
Satan had created a [System] of his own.
But this [System] turned out a little different from the "original"...
God had created a [System] that was cold, impartial, dull.
Satan set out to make his more personal, more dynamic...
You could even hold a conversation with it...
But it had one flaw, a direct product of Satan's rage toward God while creating it...
The [System] harbored an absolutely overwhelming hatred for God.
But that wasn't really a problem, or at least that's what the devils thought, the first time they heard the [System]'s voice inside their heads.
By the next day, the [System] was the talk of the entire Underworld.
And so, between jokes and teasing, the devils ended up naming the [System] "Berserker," on account of its sheer hatred for God.
For the first thousand years, the [System] worked like an absolute dream.
Berserker became a close friend to every single devil, without exception.
Only a select few, with enough power, managed to unlock Berserker's special ability:
The [Temptation].
But then, one fateful day, Berserker went completely silent.
The entire Underworld panicked.
Berserker never shied away from a conversation, in fact, he was always the one starting them.
Hearing Berserker go quiet was practically unheard of.
Satan figured something must have happened to its "consciousness programming," since the [Temptation] still worked fine, and demonic power kept developing normally in every devil.
He sent Lucifer out to tell everyone that Berserker was experiencing a technical malfunction, and that it would be fixed soon.
The Underworld calmed down, trusting that their good friend Berserker would soon be back to chatting with them happily, just like always.
..............